FOOD RESOURCES

FOOD….

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body.

It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or mineral.

Out of thousands of edible plants and animals around 3 dozen types form major food of humans

Agriculture is the source of majority of food components

MAJOR FOOD SUBSTANCES…

Wheat

Rice

Maize

Potato

Barley

Oats

Cassava

Sweet potato

Sugarcane

Pulses

Millet

Sorghum

Vegetables

Meat

Milk

Fish

STATISTICS SAY… Minimum caloric intake should be 2500 calories /day

If less than 90% of this amount: Undernourished

If less than 80% : Seriously undernourished

Deficiency or lack of nutrition causes: MALNUTRITION.

Last 50 years food production…tripled

Population growth rate also high…..

Every year 40 million people die of MALNUTRITION and UNDERNOURISHMENT

300 million Indians are UNDERNOURISHED

Food production in 64 developing countries….lagging behind population growth rate……

SOURCES OF

Staple foods:

Agriculture

Meat, milk and products:

Livestock

MORE FOOD….MORE PRODUCTION

Agricultural improvement by: new machines, hybrid technology, improved varieties, excessive fertilizers, irrigation etc

Milk, poultry and meat products:

Hybridisation techniques, improved sanitary conditions, disease control, medicines, OVERGRAZING

OVERGRAZING AND ITS IMPACTS Grazing on grasslands or pastures.

Available areas under decline

Exceed the CARRYING CAPACITY

Impacts:

Land degradation

Soil erosion

Loss of Useful Species

AGRICULTURE AND ITS IMPACTS Necessary as it’s the major source of food

It dates back to as long as humans exist

Hunter gatherer-----------civilized by agriculture

Slash and burn traditional technique used.

IMPACTS OF EXCESSIVE AGRICULTURE

Traditional agriculture and its impacts

Modern Agriculture and its Impacts:

Impacts of HYV(high yield varieties)

Fertilizer related problems

Pesticide related problems

Water logging

Salinity problem

TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURE

Deforestation due to Slash and burn technique

Clearing of forests for new land area

Depletion of Nutrients

HIGH YIELD VARIETIES Encourage MONOCULTURE

These crops demands controlled irrigation.

These crop should be irrigated at right time as per the schedule and in right quantity.

Most of the HYV seeds are dwarf varieties.

They need higher doses of fertilizer.

HYV crops are highly susceptible to pests.

FERTILIZER RELATED PROBLEMS N, P, K are essential macronutrients

Highly used to get boost in production

They cause MICRONUTRIENT IMBALANCE

Eg: Punjab and Haryana soils suffer from severe deficiency of Zinc.

Nitrates pollute ground water. Conc more than 25 mg/l….causes Blue Baby Syndrome

Eutrophication

PESTICIDE RELATED PROBLEMS

•Development of Resistant varieties: Super pests

•Death of non target organisms

•Biological magnification

WATER LOGGING AND SALINITY PROBLEM Over irrigation is the major cause

Inadequate drainage leads to high

water column

Pore spaces drenched with water

No adequate gaseous exchange

1/3rd of cultivable land affected by salts

Accumulation of salts like NaCl, sodium sulphate, calcium and magnesium chloride

High electrical conductivity and high sodium percentage

Water evaporates and leaves behind a white crust of salt

Punjab and Haryana face problem

Thank You